Teeeitoey



(No Model.)

S. BURNELL.

GUIDE FOR SAWING STAIRRAILIS. No. 320,845. -Paten-ted'June 23, 1885.

llllllll "IIIIHIHH' IIIIIIIIIIIIIH E l W NITED STATES STRONG BURNELL, OF ANACORTES, WVASHINGTON TERRITORY.

GUIDE FOR SAWI'NG STAlR-RAILS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 320,845, dated June 23, 1885.

Application filed March 19. 1885. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, STRONG BURNELL, of Anacortes, in the county of Skagit, Washing ton Territory, have invented a newand useful Improvement in the Manufacture of Stair- Rails; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to stair-rails, and is designed to facilitate the manufacture of the curved portions of stair-rails.

The invention consists of an apparatus for holding the plank or material of which the rail is to be made in suitable position to the saw and for marking the material.

A general view of the apparatus is shown in Figure 1. Fig. 2 shows in plan the material after being taken from the frame. Fig. 3 illustrates the mode of marking the piece for sawing the top and bottom. Fig. 4 illustrates the mode of sawing the top and bottom of the curved piece.

In Fig. 1,A represents a'post, preferably of round metal, set in any suitable standard. The arms B G are attached to this post by eyes I) c, which are slipped over the post, so as to allow the arms to turn thereon or to slip up and down. These arms are held in any suitable position by means of washers d, and have set-screws 6. Upon the ends of these arms are set-clamps D E.

The upper clamp, D, consists of a pair of' jaws, 1 2, which are hinged and pivoted upon the rod, and are held in place by a set-screw, 3. A rod, 4, fixed in the lower jaw, passes up through the upper loosely, and is threaded and provided with a thumb-nut, by means of which the jaws are made to clamp the piece of plank or other material which is to be operated on. The lower jaw, E, is constructed in the same manner, except that I have shown it as pivoted upon a piece, F, which piece is pivoted on the lower rod. This clamp can be moved without disturbing its position upon the rod; but it will be apparent that these clamps can be adjusted upon these rods and from the center posts, or may be turned upon the rods to any desired angle, according to the pitch required of the rail.

It will be obvious that, shifting the upper rod, the material from which the rail is to be made may be set at any angle required by the the central shaft.

it to slide and turn on the arm.

pitch of the stair. Thelower rod and its clamp may rest upon the floor or any suitable sup port, and the upper clamp or the piece which it holds may be pressed by a rod, H, or may be blocked up in any way found most convenient.

The distance at which the piece is set from the center post may be determined by the curve required.

WVhen the piece is clamped in the described position, as shown in Fig. 1, it may be turned with the arms on the post A as a center when held in this position. piece is moved to a band-saw, and the piece is moved to the saw on the proper line by simply turning the arms which carry the piece upon \Vhen the outer edge has been sawed, the lower clamp may be loosened without disturbing its position upon the rod, and the apparatus may be moved so as to bring the saw within the arms, and it may then be used to saw the inner surface and form the inside curve in the manner described for the outside.

In order that the saw may be accurately guided or that the effect may be observed as to Whether it is running correctly, Ihave provided means for marking the-upper surface of the plank. This consists of an arm, K, having a hub, is, and a sliding block, Z, made With a hole, 6, to receive a pencil, and bored to fit It is held in any desired position by a set-screw, 7, and by setting it in the proper place and moving it up or down it maybe used accurately to mark the inner and outer lines on which the saw is to run. The marking device is an important feature of the invention, as it dispenses with all other means used heretofore to get a pattern to fit a circle by which to mark the plank for any given portion of a stair-rail. The saw runs vertically, and in the path of which the post is the center it forms a spiral cylindrical surface accurately for the section of the rail,

which is, as before described, set in the appa- The apparatus with the it upon theinner curved surface. \Vhen it is in this position, I mark by its edges lines indicating the thickness, as shown in Fig. 3, by which the piece is to be sawed. I then take the piece to the band-saw and lay it upon the table with the outer curve down, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. In this position I feed thepiece to the saw, and as the twisted curved surface moves over the plane surface of the bed it turns the piece so as to give the proper twist to the upper-and lower surface.

The rod K, to which the pencil is attached, also serves a useful purpose to aid the operator in squaring the piece at either end where a straight piece of the rail is to be connected therewith. The square may be adapted to be attached to the rod for that purpose, and the rod also serves in marking the rail to cut the joints. The plank or other piece may be placed in the machine at the proper angle by means of the pitclrboard, as any stair'builder will readily understand. The machine may be used for similar work, such as coping and the like.

It will be understood that I do not limit myself in this invention to the particular form of clamps or other details of construction, as these may be varied greatly to suit different kinds of work without departing from the spirit of my invention.

To cut a right-hand rail, reverse the angle from one clamp to the other, then take the clamp off from the lower arm, turn it over,

(or end for end,) and go through the same process as in cutting a left-hand rail.

I claim as my invention- 1. A machine for presenting the material from which a stair-rail is to be cut to the saws, consisting of a central vertical standard, arms extending therefrom having vertical adjustment thereon and adapted to be swung horizontally to any desired position,and adjustable clamps on said arms, all substantially as described.

- 2. The combination,with the vertical central p0st,of the vertically-adjustable arms extending therefrom and adapted to swing thereon, and the clamps for holding the material to be out in proper inclined position to be fed to the saws, and a horizontal rod adapted to slide and turn on said post, and carrying an adjustable block for holding a pencil, all. substantially as described. 1

In testimony whereof I have signed my nam to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

STRONG BURNELL.

WVitn esses:

W. J. HAGADORN, A. M. VHITE. 

